Much of the pleasure of chairmaking, Peter Galbert says, depends on using the right tools. To get a tool that sings rather than groans, Galbert often makes his own. He’s made everything from adzes and reamers to mallets and branding irons. Most of the time he hews close to traditional designs, but on occasion Galbert innovates, as with the tools on this page. And although he usually makes tools for himself, he does make some for sale. You can find his travisher and caliper—and plans for the ingenious head of his shaving horse—on his website, petergalbertchairmaker.com, where he also posts a lively and informative blog.
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No more dumbhead. A ratchet design raises the IQ of the work-holding device—known as the dumbhead—on Galbert’s shave horse. What he calls the “smarthead” adjusts in an instant for workpieces of various thicknesses without changing the position of the treadle, which means the user’s legs are never overextended or jammed up.
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Ravishing travisher. Galbert finds that even a travisher made in rosewood wears quickly on the bottom, so he screws a brass sole plate to the walnut body of the travishers he makes.
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Quick—what’s the diameter? Galbert’s turning caliper, with a spring-loaded tongue between its jaws and a clearly calibrated scale, gives an instant reading of the diameter of a workpiece. It can be used even as a part is spinning and a groove is being cut.
Fine Woodworking Recommended Products
Lie-Nielsen No. 102 Low Angle Block Plane
Starrett 4" Double Square
Marking knife: Hock Double-Bevel Violin Knife, 3/4 in.
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